PM Modi to flag off Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat train on Sunday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually flag off a Vande Bharat train between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam on January 15, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy has said.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Kishan Reddy would be present at the Secunderabad railway station here for the inaugural service.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually flag off the prestigious Vande Bharat train from Secunderabad Railway Station on 15th January at 10.00 AM as a gift to the Telugu people on the occasion of Sankranti," Kishan Reddy said in a release on Wednesday night.

The eighth Vande Bharat train in the country will run between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam in approximately eight hours.

The intermediate stops envisaged for the train include Warangal, Khammam, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry, the release added.

A release from the office of Kishan Reddy had said on January 9 that Modi would be visiting Telangana on January 19 to dedicate to the nation and lay foundation stone for projects worth Rs 7,000 crore besides flagging off the Vande Bharat train between Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. However, the state BJP on Wednesday clarified that the PM's visit would not happen on January 19.